Pouch-type rechargeable battery and its method of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A pouch-type rechargeable battery and its method of manufacture includes: an electrode assembly having a resin layer attached to the outer surface of an electrode tap, and a pouch having a sealing part formed on the ends of the top and bottom thereof, housing the electrode assembly. The resin layer is positioned inside the sealing part and sealed by heat and pressure for preventing it from being exposed outside the sealing part. Thus, the pouch-type rechargeable battery is adapted to seal the resin layer in the sealing part, instead of exposing it outside the sealing part so as to reduce the longitudinal length of the battery, thereby improving the capacity of the battery.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, andclaims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C.§ 119 from an applicationfor POUCH-TYPE RECHARGEABLE BATTERY AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAMEearlier filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 2^(nd)of April 2007 and there duly assigned Serial No. 10-2007-0032472.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pouch-type rechargeable battery andits method of manufacture, and more particularly, the present inventionrelates to a pouch-type rechargeable battery using a pouch as anexternal case in housing an electrode assembly.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, a lithium rechargeable battery uses a non-aqueouselectrolyte due to the reactivity of lithium with water. The non-aqueouselectrolyte may be a solid polymer containing a lithium salt or a liquidin which of a lithium salt is dissociated in an organic solvent. Lithiumrechargeable batteries can be classified into lithium metal batteriesand lithium ion batteries, which use liquid electrolytes, and lithiumion polymer batteries which uses a polymer electrolyte, depending uponthe types of electrolyte.

A problem of leakage of a lithium ion polymer battery, in comparisonwith a lithium ion battery using liquid electrolytes, does not occur.Accordingly, the lithium ion polymer battery can use a multi-layeredpouch including a metal foil and one or more polymer membranes coveringthe top and bottom surfaces of the metal foil instead of a metal canused in the lithium ion battery.

When the multi-layered pouch uses lithium rechargeable batteries, it ispossible to reduce the weight and thickness of the battery, and torelatively freely change the shape of the battery, as compared with abattery in which a metal can is used.

The conventional pouch for a lithium ion polymer battery has amulti-layered structure by sequentially stacking a polyolefin resinlayer, a thermal adhesive layer, which acts as a sealing material with athermal adhesive property, a metal foil layer, such as aluminum or thelike maintaining mechanical strength, and a nylon layer which act as aprotection layer. CPP (Casted Polypropylene) is normally used as thepolyolefin resin layer.

In a general method of assembling a pouch-type lithium rechargeablebattery, a middle portion of a rectangular pouch membrane is folded toform the top and bottom of the pouch. A drawing part, which can receivean electrode assembly or the like, is formed by a press processing inthe bottom of the pouch. The formed drawing part makes it easy toinstall the electrode assembly in the post-processes, thereby making iteasy to form a flange on the flange part of the pouch on the basis ofthe drawing part, and the flange part forms a sealing part in thefollowing sealing processes. In addition, the sealing part can be foldedand arranged, thereby compactly forming the pouch.

An electrode assembly, which is formed by sequentially stacking apositive electrode plate, the first separator, a negative electrodeplate, and the second separator, is wound in a spiral form to be formedas a jelly roll. The formed jelly roll is disposed in the drawing partof the bottom of the pouch. The flange part, which has a shape of aflange, is heated and pressed to form a bare cell of a battery while theflange parts of the top and bottom of the pouch are brought into tightcontact with each other.

In order to electrically connect a positive electrode plate and anegative electrode plate of an electrode assembly to outside of thepouch, electrode taps are formed on one side of each of a positiveelectrode plate and a negative electrode plate. These electrode taps areformed to be projected from the jelly roll in a direction perpendicularto the winding direction of the jelly roll and are drawn out through oneside of the pouch to be sealed.

Accessories or structures, such as a Protective Circuit Module (PCM) ora Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) element, are attached to thebare cell, of which the pouch has been sealed, to form a core cell.Thereafter, the core cell is inserted and combined into a hard case toform a hard pack.

In the end of the flange part of the pouch, a metal foil constitutingthe middle layer of a pouch membrane has been exposed. Accordingly, whenthe Protective Circuit Module is combined with the pouch-type bare cell,the conductive part of the Protective Circuit Module is very likely tobe electrically connected to the exposed metal foil. If the conductivepart of the Protective Circuit Module is directly or indirectlyconnected to the electrode of the bare cell, it is more likely that theelectrode and the metal foil of the pouch membrane are electricallyconnected.

Erosion of the metal foil of the pouch membrane, which is made ofaluminum or the like by an electrical and chemical action, can occur ifthe metal foil of the pouch membrane is electrically connected to theelectrode. In particular, if electrolyte ingredients or humidity existaround the electrode taps of the pouch, the erosion of the metal foil isaccelerated.

Since the metal foil, which acts as a barrier between water and oxygen,is continually eroding, only a polymer layer of the pouch membrane isnot enough to block the inflow of water and oxygen. In addition, asexterior water or oxygen flows therein, abnormal phenomenon, such asswelling, occurs to cause abandonment, performance degradation of thebattery, and shortened life time of the battery.

In the process of sealing the pouch, a predetermined ingredient may beadded to a surface of a polymer layer for reinforcing the bondingbetween the polymer layer, such as CPP, inside the pouch and a metalincluding the electrode tap. In addition, a resin insulation layer, suchas an insulation tape, may be further attached to the electrode tap forpreventing an occurrence of a short circuit between the electrode tapand the metal foil of the pouch.

Contemporary designs for pouch-type rechargeable batteries tend toineffectively utilize the space and capacity of the batteries, and thussuffer from reduced charging and discharging capacity, with anaccompanying reduction in capacity-to-volume, or capacity-to-widthratio.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentionedproblems, and an object of the present invention is to provide apouch-type rechargeable battery including a shorter structure using aresin layer on an electrode tap, and to improve the capacity-to-volumeor width ratio of the battery.

A pouch-type rechargeable battery according to the present inventionincludes an electrode assembly having a resin layer formed on a surfaceportion of the electrode tap, and a pouch having a sealing part formedon one end thereof, housing the electrode assembly, to expose theelectrode tap outside the pouch through the sealing part. The resinlayer does not extend beyond a straight line crossing the electrode tapand passing the front end of the pouch.

A groove can be formed on the region corresponding to the resin layer ofthe sealing part so as to expose a portion of the resin layer. Thegroove has an outline in one end of the pouch formed concavely atpositions set apart from the straight line. The distance, in which thegroove is set apart from the straight line, is greater than that of theexposed portion of the resin layer.

In the sealing part, one end of a pouch membrane is folded inside (innerspace) the pouch along a folding line, and the sides opposed to eachother, of the folded pouch membrane, that is, the outer surfaces opposedto each other, of the top and bottom of the pouch, are sealed. Thefolding line, which is a boundary of the folding part, constitutes thefront end of the sealing part or the front end of the pouch.

The pouch membrane can have a layered structure including an insulationlayer covering a metal foil layer and the top and bottom surfaces of themetal foil layer. Then, the insulation layer covering the metal foillayer can be made of a material which melts between 90° C. and 160° C. .The insulation layer covering the top and bottom surfaces of the metalfoil can be made of, for example, a polyolefin resin layer, CPP (CastedPolypropylene).

According to the present invention, a method of manufacturing apouch-type rechargeable battery is provided, the method including:manufacturing an electrode assembly including a resin layer formed on asurface portion of an electrode tap; arranging ends of a top and bottomof a pouch on a top and bottom of the resin layer to be overlapped withat least a portion of the resin layer, the top and bottom of the pouchbeing arranged in the opposite direction to the electrode assembly withwhich the resin layer is formed; forming a sealing part by heating theends of the top and bottom of the pouch; bending the top and bottom ofthe pouch toward the electrode assembly along the sealing part to exposean end of the electrode tap and to cover the electrode assembly with thetop and bottom of the pouch; and sealing an opening flange part of thetop and bottom of the pouch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many of theattendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the presentinvention becomes better understood by reference to the followingdetailed description when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference symbols indicate the sameor similar components, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrode assembly according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a front view of a pouch-type rechargeable battery accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a front view of a pouch-type rechargeable battery accordingto another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are longitudinal cross-sectional views before and aftercompleting a pouch-type rechargeable battery according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the top and bottom of the pouch accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method of manufacturing a pouch-typerechargeable battery according to an embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a front view of a pouch-type rechargeable battery.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning now to the drawings and first to FIG. 6, a pouch-typerechargeable battery is illustrated with insulation tapes 120 a and 120b attached to electrode taps 117 and 119, portions of the insulationtapes 120 a and 120 b are sealed by heating and pressing inside thesealing part 350 formed on one end of pouch 300, and other portions ofinsulation tapes 120 a and 120 b are exposed outside sealing part 350.Insulation tapes 120 a and 120 b are exposed outside the sealing part350, when electrode taps 117 and 119 are bent along a front end 305 ofpouch 300 and connected to a Protective Circuit Module (not shown). Thisprevents electrode taps 117 and 119 from contacting a metal foil exposedoutside of front end 305 of the pouch and electrically connected to eachother.

In this process of bending the electrode taps however, the electrodetaps are not bent exactly along the front end of the pouch, but they arebent in the front ends of insulation tapes 120 a and 120 b due to theeffect of insulation tapes 120 a and 120 b. Accordingly, the length ofthe pouch-type rechargeable battery becomes longer as the length fromfront end 305 of pouch 300 to the front end of insulation tapes 120 aand 120 b.

As a result, this concomitant lengthening of the pouch-type rechargeablebattery undesirable reduces the capacity (charging and dischargingcapacity)-to-volume or width ratio of the pouch-type battery.Accordingly, a reduction in the length from the front end to the rearend of the pouch-type rechargeable battery is needed to enhance theutilization of space and the capacity of the battery.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention aredescribed in detail with reference to accompanying drawings, in whichlike reference numerals denote like elements.

An exemplary embodiment of a pouch-type rechargeable battery accordingto the present invention includes an electrode assembly 10, and a pouchhaving its top 30 and bottom 40 which are sealed, housing the electrodeassembly 10 therein.

As shown in FIG. 1, although it is not shown in detail, the electrodeassembly 10, formed by sequentially stacking a positive electrode plate11 and a negative electrode plate 13, formed by an electrode collectorincluding a metal grid or thin-film, charged or coated with an electrodeactive material, and a separator 15 interposed between the positiveelectrode plate 11 and the negative electrode plate 13, and wound toform a jelly roll configuration.

On one side of each of the positive electrode plate 11 and the negativeelectrode plate 13, a positive electrode tap 17 and a negative electrodetap 19 are respectively formed as electrode taps so as to beelectrically connected to electrical connections outside of the pouch.In addition, the positive electrode tap 17 and the negative electrodetap 19 are spaced apart in parallel.

A resin layer 20 is formed on surface portions of the positive electrodetap 17 and the negative electrode tap 19. In the post-processes, theresin layer 20 is interposed between the bonding sides which theelectrode taps and the top 30 and bottom 40 of the pouch meeting in asealing part formed in one end of the pouch, to improve the coherencebetween the electrode taps and the pouch, thereby reinforcing sealing ofthe pouch. The resin layer 20 prevents a metal foil layer and theelectrode taps from being electrically connected to each other in thesealing part of the pouch. The resin layer 20 can be made of aninsulation tape with a thermal adhesive property.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the top 30 and bottom 40 of the pouch forms asealing part 150 by being heated and pressed in one end of the pouch100. The two electrode taps 17 and 19 are drawn out of the pouch 100through the sealing part 150. As shown in FIG. 4, a pouch membrane 90constituting the pouch includes three layers, a metal foil layer 70, andinsulation layers 80 a and 80 b respectively formed on the top andbottom thereof.

The metal foil layer 70 can be made of aluminum or an alloy ofaluminum-based material, and the insulation layers 80 a and 80 b can bemade of the same material, for example, a polyolefin resin layer, CPP(Casted polypropylene). The insulation layer 80 a and 80 b are can bemade of other material which melts ranging from 90° C. to 160° C. so asto facilitate the sealing.

A pouch membrane can be formed with many more functional layers. Theinsulation layers in the top and bottom surfaces of a metal foil layercan be formed of different materials. For example, the inner layer inthe pouch can be made of CPP (Casted polypropylene) and the outer layerthereof can be made of any plastic selected from a group consisting ofpolypropylene chloride, polyethylene, ethylenepropylene copolymer,copolymer of polyethylene and acrylic acid, and copolymer ofpolypropylene and acrylic acid.

As the pouch is heated and pressed for sealing, a bottom insulationlayer or an inner insulation layer 80 b of the pouch membrane in asealing part 150 are heated and pressed above its melting point.Portions of the inner insulation layer 80 b or portions of the resinlayers 20 a and 20 b of the sealing part 150 melt, flow outside thepouch 100, cover one end (hereinafter, referred to as a front end) ofthe pouch membrane in the front end of the pouch which the straight lineA passes, and then is hardened, thereby acting as an insulation membranecovering the metal foil layer 70 exposed in the front end of the pouch.Accordingly, as the electrode taps 17 and 19 are bent in the front endof the pouch, the metal foil layer in the front end of the pouch iscovered with the insulation membrane for preventing the electrode taps17 and 19 and the metal foil layer 70 from being electrically connectedto each other.

In forming the sealing part of the pouch, the front ends of the resinlayers 20 a and 20 b do not exceed the straight line A crossing theelectrode taps in an approximately longitudinal direction, passing thefront end of the pouch or the front end of the sealing part 150, therebypreventing the resin layers 20 a and 20 b from being exposed outside thepouch. The resin layers 20 a and 20 b can be projected from theiroriginal position by pressure in the process of sealing. Accordingly theelectrode taps 17 and 19 can be installed in the sealing part 150 with asmaller width than that of the sealing part 150, in the direction whichthe electrode taps 17 and 19 are drawn out of the pouch, so that theresin layers 20 a and 20 b are not exposed outside the pouch 100.

Considering temperature and pressure applied to heat and press thesealing part, the positions of the resin layers 20 a and 20 b or theoptimized width of the sealing part 150 can be decided according to theeach condition. In contrast, the temperature and pressure can beadjusted so that the resin layers 20 a and 20 b are not drawn out of thepouch in the front end of the sealing part 150.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the sealingpart 250 of the pouch 200, as shown FIG. 2B, has groove parts 60 a and60 b formed therein, so that the outer line in the front end of thesealing part 250 is curved in the sealing part D3 corresponding to resinlayers 25 a and 25 b. In the groove parts, the electrode taps 17 and 19are covered with portions of the resin layers 25 a and 25 b. When theelectrode taps 17 and 19 are bent along a virtual straight line A′crossing the front end of the pouch for connecting to a protectivecircuit board, the groove parts 60 a and 60 b and portions of the resinlayers 25 a and 25 b exposed outside the pouch prevent the electrodetaps 17 and 19 and the metal foil layer of the pouch membrane from beingelectrically connected to each other.

Other portion except for portions of the resin layers 25 a and 25 b,which is exposed outside the pouch, exists in the sealing part 250 inthe bottoms of the groove parts 60 a and 60 b. The groove parts 60 a and60 b have a height D1 which is greater than the height D2 of the resinlayers 20 a and 20 b exposed to the grooves 60. The groove parts 60 aand 60 b are sealed, so that the resin layers 25 a and 25 b do notproject to the outside above a virtual straight line A′ crossing thefront end of the sealing part 250.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the pouch at first is divided into the topand bottom thereof. The ends of the divided top 130 and bottom 140 ofthe pouch corresponding to the first sealing part 55 are overlapped withthe top and bottom of the resin layer 27 a covering the top and bottomsurfaces of the electrode tap 17. Then, the edges of the ends can bepositioned in the middle of the electrode tap covered with the resinlayer 27 a.

The resin layer 27 a is sealed, contacting with the outer insulationlayer (corresponding to 80 a in FIG. 4) of the pouch membrane. The top130 and bottom 140 of the pouch are folded along the folding lines 57and 59 or the first sealing part 55, respectively, to expose the end ofthe electrode tap 17. The electrode assembly 10, which has been exposedoutside the pouch, is covered with the top 130 and bottom 140 of thepouch. Then, the opening edge parts (flange parts) of the top 130′ andbottom 140′ of the pouch are sealed and form a second sealing part 57,thereby forming a closed pouch-type bare cell.

Accordingly, the outer insulation layer 80 a of the pouch membrane isexposed in the outer surface of the pouch-type bare cell. Consideringthe portion which the first sealing part 55 is formed as the frontthereof, and the portion which the second sealing part 57 is formed asthe rear thereof, the folding lines 57 and 59 constitute the front endof the pouch including a pouch-type bare cell, and are formed in thefurther front than the front end of the resin layer 27 a. In thepouch-type bare cell, the resin layer 27 a is included in the firstsealing part 55. Therefore, as the electrode tap 17 is bent along thefolding lines 57 and 59 of the top 130′ and bottom l40′ of the pouch,the substantial bent part of the electrode tap 17 is formed in thefurther front than the folding lines 57 and 59 due to the resin layer 27a for preventing the pouch-type rechargeable battery from being longerthan necessarily.

In addition, when the front end of the pouch membrane is overlapped withthe resin layer 27 a and the electrode tap 17 is bent in the portions ofthe folding lines 55 and 59, only the outer insulation layer 80 a of thepouch membrane is contacted, so that the electrode tap 17 and the metalfoil of the pouch do not contact each other.

Although the pouch is divided into the top 130 and bottom 140 thereof inFIGS. 3A and 3B, the pouch can be a tube-type, not being divided. Inthis case, the inner side of the tube will be reversed to form the outerside thereof, not that the top and bottom of the pouch are folded alongthe folded line. Then, the first sealing part and the second sealingpart are respectively formed on one end and the other end of the tube toform the pouch.

A method of manufacturing the pouch-type rechargeable battery accordingto exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below inmore detail with reference to the attached drawings.

As shown in FIG. 5, a method of manufacturing the pouch-typerechargeable battery according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention includes: an electrode assembly manufacturing step (S10); anarranging step (S20); a sealing part forming step (S30); an electrodetap exposing step (S40); and a pouch sealing step (S50).

In the electrode assembly manufacturing step (S10), the electrodeassembly, which is formed by stacking a positive electrode plate 11 anda negative electrode plate 13, each coated with an electrode activematerial, and a separator 15 interposed between the plates, is wound ina spiral form. The separator 15 prevents the positive electrode plate 11and the negative electrode plate 13 from being short-circuited and onlyallows lithium ions to pass.

In addition, the positive electrode tap 17 and the negative electrodetap 19, drawn out of the positive electrode plate 11 and the negativeelectrode plate 13, have a resin layer 27 a respectively attached to theouter surfaces thereof, for improving adhesion between the top 130 andbottom 140 of the pouch and the electrode tap.

The positive electrode active materials may be chalcogenide compounds,e.g., metallic oxide compounds, such as LiCoO₂, LiMn₂O₄, LiNiO₂,LiNil-xCoxO₂ (0<x<1), LiMnO₂, and the like. The negative electrodeactive materials may be selected from a group consisting of carbon-basedmaterials, Si, Sn, tin oxides, composite tin alloys, transition metaloxides, or lithium metallic oxides. In addition, the positive electrodeplate 11 is made of an aluminum material, and the negative electrodeplate 13 is made of a copper material. The separator 15 is usually madeof polyethylene or polypropylene.

In the arranging step (S20), the position of the resin layer 27 a and afirst sealing part 55 are arranged. As shown in FIG. 3B, the firstsealing part 55 formed on ends of the top 130 and bottom 140 of thepouch includes the resin layer 27 a of the electrode tap 17, which ispositioned between the top and bottom of the pouch. It is preferred thatedges of the top 130 and bottom 140 of the pouch do not exceed a portionof the resin layer 27 a of the electrode tap 17.

The top 130 and bottom 140 of the pouch is arranged in the oppositedirection to the electrode assembly 10 along the sealing part. The top30 and bottom 40 of the pouch is arranged upwards and downwards,respectively, on the axis of the electrode tap covered with the resinlayers 20 a and 20 b. Outer insulation layers of the pouch membraneforming outer surfaces of the pouch are opposed to each other.

In the sealing part forming step (S30), the sealing part are heated andpressed to weld the contacted surfaces between the outer insulationlayer of the pouch membrane of the sealing part and the resin layer 27a.

In the electrode tap exposing step (S40), as shown FIGS. 3A and 3B, thetop 130 and bottom 140 of the pouch are folded and bent toward theelectrode assembly IO on the axis of the first sealing part 55 (moreconcretely, along the folding lines 57 and 59). This exposes one end ofthe electrode tap 17 in the front of the resin layer 27 a covered withthe top 130 and bottom 140 of the pouch. The resin layer 27 a is formedin the rear thereof along of the folding lines 57 and 59, to be coveredwith the top 130′ and bottom 140′ of the pouch like an electrodeassembly 10, and expose the outer insulation layer of the pouch membraneoutside the pouch.

In the pouch sealing step (S50), the top 130′ and bottom 140′ of thepouch are joined as opposed to each other, housing the electrodeassembly 10 inside the pouch, to seal the inner insulation layer of thepouch membrane which is opposed on the flange part thereof. Thus, apouch-type rechargeable battery, in which the resin layer 27 a is formedinside the pouch, is formed.

In summary, the pouch-type rechargeable battery according to the presentinvention is adapted to seal the resin layer attached to the electrodetap of the battery in the sealing part or inside the pouch, instead ofexposing it outside the sealing part so as to substantially reduce thelength of the battery, thereby improving the capacity-to-volume ratio ofthe battery.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various modifications in form anddetail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore,the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims,and all differences within the scope will be construed as being includedin the present invention.

1. A pouch-type rechargeable battery comprising: an electrode assemblyincluding a resin layer arranged on a surface portion of an electrodetap; and a pouch, including the electrode assembly drawn out through asealing part arranged on one end thereof, housing the electrodeassembly; wherein the resin layer does not extend beyond a straight linecrossing the electrode tap and passing a front end of the pouch.
 2. Thepouch-type rechargeable battery according to claim 1, further comprisinga groove, arranged on a region corresponding to the resin layer of thesealing part, to expose a portion of the resin layer outside.
 3. Thepouch-type rechargeable battery according to claim 2, wherein a distancein which the groove is set apart from the straight line is greater thanthat of the exposed portion of the resin layer.
 4. The pouch-typerechargeable battery according to claim 1, wherein a front end of apouch membrane, on a part in which the electrode tap is drawn out, isfolded inside the pouch along a folding line to seal opposite sides ofends of the folded pouch membrane.
 5. The pouch-type rechargeablebattery according to claim 4, wherein the pouch membrane comprises aninsulation layer covering upper and lower surface of a metal foil layer.6. The pouch-type rechargeable battery according to claim 5, wherein theinsulation layer has a melting point in a range of from 90° C. to 160°C.
 7. The pouch-type rechargeable battery according to claim 5, whereinthe insulation layer comprises a polyolefin resin layer, CPP (CastedPolypropylene).
 8. A method of manufacturing a pouch-type rechargeablebattery, the method comprising: manufacturing an electrode assemblyincluding a resin layer formed on a surface portion of an electrode tap;arranging ends of a top and bottom of a pouch on a top and bottom of theresin layer to be overlapped with at least a portion of the resin layer,the top and bottom of the pouch being arranged in the opposite directionto the electrode assembly with which the resin layer is formed; forminga sealing part by heating the ends of the top and bottom of the pouch;bending the top and bottom of the pouch toward the electrode assemblyalong the sealing part to expose an end of the electrode tap and tocover the electrode assembly with the top and bottom of the pouch; andsealing an opening flange part of the top and bottom of the pouch. 9.The method of manufacturing the pouch-type rechargeable batteryaccording to claim 8, wherein the top and bottom of the pouch adjuststhe width of the sealing part so that the sealing part covers an edge ofthe end of the electrode tap of the resin layer upon forming the sealingpart.